Johnston Named Athlete of the Week

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Senior Colin Johnston (141) tallied WVU’s first win and takedown against No. 5 Oklahoma State on Saturday. Jan. 18. Johnston wrestled No. 12 Anthony Collica to the mat twice in the first period. Collica recorded an escape and reversal to bring the bout to 4-3 in Johnston’s favor midway through the first period. An escape by Collica to start the second knotted the match at four, but Johnston took Collica down for a third time and turned him on his back for a two-point nearfall to earn the decision, 8-4.

Johnston has now defeated back-to-back ranked opponents, recording a decision over then-No. 20 Dan Neff of Lock Haven, 12-7, on Jan 4. Johnston leads the Mountaineers with 27 takedowns in his team-high 11 dual-match victories this season, with his lone loss coming against then-19 Joe Spisak of Virginia on Nov. 2.

This Week in Women’s Basketball
The Mountaineers return to the court for a two-game road swing, starting at 7:30 p.m. ET, on Wednesday at Texas Tech and closing out the week with a 4 p.m. matchup at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 25 … WVU trails Texas Tech 2-0 in the all-time series, while leading Texas 3-1.

Last Week in Women’s Basketball
WVU went 2-0 in Big 12 action … junior guard Linda Stepney used a career-best scoring outing to help the Mountaineers to a 73-59 win over No. 13/11 Iowa State, Wednesday at the Hilton Coliseum … senior guard Christal Caldwell paved the way to a 77-63 WVU victory over Oklahoma on Saturday at the WVU Coliseum … Stepney had 16 points at ISU and recorded a career-best 17 points against OU, while Caldwell had 11 points at Iowa State and recorded 23 to lead WVU against Oklahoma.

Coach Mike Carey: “Give our girls a lot of credit. We came off a big win, came home, and Oklahoma has a great team. They run a lot of stuff and a lot of stuff well. Overall, I’m very pleased; our girls fought hard.”

This Week in Wrestling
The West Virginia University wrestling team is idle this week.

Notes & Quotes
Senior Colin Johnston defeated a ranked opponent for the second consecutive match, defeating the Cowboys’ No. 12 Anthony Collica by decision, 8-4 … Johnston leads the team with 27 takedowns this season and has a team-high 11 dual-match wins … freshman Leo Trindade won his third consecutive match, defeating OSU’s Darnell Bortz, 8-6.

Coach Craig Turnbull: “Colin is becoming more confident. He struggled last year with his weight and injuries, and it snowballed to where it took some of his confidence. Now he is beyond it. With two wins over ranked opponents, he is sticking his chest out a little bit more, and it is coming at the right time in the year.”

This Week in Swimming & Diving
The teams are off next week before they hit the road on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 ... the men will be traveling to Columbus, Ohio to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State on Jan. 31, while the women’s team will be traveling to Athens, Ohio to face Ohio and Iowa State on Feb. 1.

Last Week in Swimming & Diving
The West Virginia University men’s swim team earned its first-ever Big 12 Conference win in a split dual meet at TCU on Saturday. The women’s team fought hard, but ultimately fell to TCU 164-121.

Notes & Quotes
The men’s team earned their win by a score of 167-133, while the women’s team fought hard, but ultimately fell to TCU 164-121 … in the men’s 200 medley relay, the “A” team of senior Bryce Bohman and juniors Chris Brill, Julien Vialette and Tim Squires won the event with a time of 1:31.45 … in the men’s 200 free, Glegg took the event with a time of 1:41.11 … in the men’s 100 back, Bohman scored the win with a time of 48.54 … in the 100 breast, junior Jenelle Zee won the event for the women with a time of 1:05.88 ... for the men, Brill placed second (58.14) … in the women’s 50 free, Gillmore won the event with a time of 24.12 … in the men’s 50 free, Vialette won the event with a time of 21.28 … in the men’s 100 free, Marsh scored the win with a time of 46.54 … in the men’s 500 free, Cobbe earned a key win the event with a time of 4:38.67.

For the divers, the women’s team took three of the top four spots on the 1-meterd dive ... junior Haily VandePoel won the event with a score of 277.94 … on the men’s 1-meter, sophomore Keith Carmichael posted the top score in the event for the Mountaineers this season and placed first (325.95) … on the women’s 3-meter, VandePoel earned another win with a score of 318.15.

This Week in Track

The Mountaineers travel to Youngstown, Ohio, for the YSU College Invitational on Friday, Jan. 24.

Last Week in Track
West Virginia competed in the WVU Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18 at the WVU Shell Building ... the Mountaineers recorded 11 first-place finishes, however no team scoring was kept.

Notes & Quotes
Senior Katlyn Shelar recorded her second first-place finish of the season in the pole vaule, posting the second-best mark (3.90 meters) in indoor program history ... senior Stormy Nesbit placed first in the triple jump, recording the second-jump (12.42 meters) in indoor program history ... junior Karissa Knabenshue claimed first place in the shot put ... Knabenshue’s throw of 12.99 meters was the third-best mark in indoor program history.

Coach Sean Cleary: “I am excited with the way Karissa, Stormy and Katlyn competed today. All three recorded performances that fall in the top three all-time in program history. From what we saw today, all three can go much further and higher over the next few months.”

This Week in Rifle
The No. 3-ranked Mountaineers (7-0, 5-0 GARC) will travel to Murray, Ky., this weekend for the Winthrow Invitational on Friday, Jan. 24 … they will also shoot at Great American Rifle Conference (GARC) foe, No. 10-ranked Memphis, on Saturday, Jan. 25.

Last Week in Rifle
WVU defeated GARC foe No. 14 NC State to open its spring semester of competition, 4707-4604 … the Mountaineers won smallbore, 2342-2274, and air rifle, 2365-2330.

Notes & Quotes
The victory over NC State boosted the Mountaineers’ home record to 5-0 … WVU’s smallbore shot of 2342 is a season high … newcomer junior Ziva Dvorsak had a match-best aggregate score of 1183, winning smallbore with a 589 score and finishing third in air rifle with a 594 mark … junior Maren Prediger won air rifle with a shot of 597 (100-99-100-99-100-99) … sophomore Patrick Sunderman shot a career-best 590 air rifle and placed fifth … sophomore Garrett Spurgeon finished second in smallbore with a season-best 587 mark.

Coach Jon Hammond: “This was a good way to start the spring season. We accomplished what we set out to do. Everyone is working hard and improving. We have a lot more strength on this team now, and everyone is shooting with a bit more freedom. I think the break in the schedule was good for this team. Everyone shot solid today, and they all put in a good performance.”

This Week in Gymnastics
The West Virginia University gymnastics team (1-3) opens its 2014 home season against NC State on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum … Sunday is a “Dollar Day,” and all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas are available for $1 each … WVU students get in free with a valid student I.D. … Sunday also is “Poster Day,” and all fans can pick up a 2014 gymnastics schedule poster featuring the Mountaineers.

Last Week in Gymnastics
The Mountaineers concluded their two week, season-opening road trip with a narrow 193.675-193.5 loss at Maryland on Jan. 17 … senior Hope Sloanhoffer earned her first all-around win of the year (38.75) and finished first on vault (9.875), while freshman Alexa Goldberg won bars (9.875) for the second straight week … Sloanhoffer also paced the team on floor and finished third (9.8), while junior Lia Salzano placed a team-best second (9.675) on beam … as a team, WVU scored wins on vault (48.9-48.85), bars (48.775-48.5) and beam (47.425-47.4) … UMD earned the floor win (48.925-48.4).

Notes & Quotes
WVU was ahead going into the fourth rotation, but the Mountaineers suffered three falls on beam … freshman Nicolette Swoboda finished second in the all-around (38.65) … Sloanhoffer’s vault score was her best since 2012 … senior Erica Smith scored 9.8 on bars for the second straight week and placed second overall … Swoboda tied for third on vault with a career-best 9.825 score … despite the loss, WVU continues to lead its all-time series with UMD, 36-16-1 … the two teams will meet again in College Park, Md., on March 16 … WVU owns a 24-14 series advantage over the Wolfpack.

This Week in Tennis
The West Virginia University tennis team travels to Charleston, W.Va., to take on Liberty on Saturday, Jan. 25, at 3 p.m.

Last Week in Tennis
The Mountaineers (0-1) fell to Akron (1-0) 4-3 in their spring opener on Friday, Jan. 17.

Coach Miha Lisac: “It is a starting point for us, and it is important that we keep learning from these matches. I thought it was a good match on both ends and that we battled hard. We put ourselves in a position to be successful, but we need to get better at taking advantage of late situations.”